Volkswagen

If you are looking for a fabulous tuning kit that not just touches up on the exterior, but gives you some “wow” under the hood, then the AbtGolf VI, making its debut at Essen, is the end of your search. The tuning kit of Abt upgrades your vehicle giving you two different options to choose from. The conventional 122 hp 1.4-litre is expanded to 160 hp and even the 2.0 TFSI gets upgraded from 210 hp to 240 hp, offering you a choice with the power that flows from underneath that hood. The options are both efficient and help your car get lighter and faster with ease. Then there are the additional Abt threaded suspension and breaking systems which match the new performance of the car. Abt also packs some changes to the front grill, rear spoiler, alloy wheels and a lot more. But it is the modifications to what is inside the hood, which still look most impressive.

Seeing the new Volkswagen Pickup Concept, suddenly I go back in time and think of Ford’s Super Chief. Maybe because of the rounded shapes … who knows. Back to VW’s Pickup, in the images below you can see the full production model (which is currently under development) that will probably be called Robust or Taro.

The four-door double cab pickup was engineered for search-and-rescue operations with emergency services experts bringing in their contribution to what VW experts already knew.

The pickup will most likely use VW’s permanent all-wheel-drive 4MOTION technology and fuel-efficient gasoline direct-injection or diesel engines. As for the looks, it has a clean and uncluttered design, with shapes that reminds of Chevrolet Avalanche, with fenders that flare above the wheels and a five-foot cargo area along with a two piece tailgate for storage.

Though it’s just a design study, I’m confident that that’s the way it will look. They will begin production in the fall of 2009 and sales, soon after. We’ll get more info on VW’s “one-ton pickup” later this week when the 62nd IAA Commercial Vehicles Show takes places in Hanover, Germany.

Obviously, the last few days have been great for VW’s Golf. We have the new design, we told you yesterday about the new Mk6 but today it’s something different.

The new Golf VI BlueMotion Concept has been revealed today with a a 1.6-litre TDI common rail diesel engine developing 105 PS and 184 lbs-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm. But the most important thing with this BlueMotion is that the engine gets an impressive 74.3 mpg (combined) while emitting just 99 g/km of CO2. It also runs on a set of low rolling resistance tyres, has some sort of optimised aerodynamics and includes a revised five speed gearbox.

The specs aren’t bad either. 11.3 seconds to get from 0 to 62mph (100kmh) and a top speed of 117 mph. South Africa should probably get it mid 2009, so if you need a frugal car maybe you can wait for the new VW Golf 6 BlueMotion.

VW treated our eyes with a microsite, with their vision of the transportation in 2008. The designers came up with 3 concept vehicles: ‘one’ – for a single passenger, ‘ego’ – a sporty two seater, and ‘room’ – for the family. Pretty nifty if u ask me.

It seems for VW the future of cars will beemissions free, used as living spaces, networked, accident free and customized at the touch of a button. The site is very S.F. with an intro movie with holograms and stuff. Check it out for yourselves.

Volkswagen Lavida sedan is the first car that was designed outside of Germany, by the Shanghai office. This is how the new “Volkswagen face” is going to look in the future. It’s a unique front that Shanghai Volkswagen adopted with almond shaped head lamps and tail lights.

Though I like the front and the interior, I’m not impressed by the rear design. What do you guys think?

If you were to ask me what I think about a four-door coupe the answer would be negative. I can’t imagine a car with 4 doors to be sporty and attract women. I changed my mind, today, when I saw that Volkswagen announced they Passat CC in Detroit and was left drooling. You get both performances, design and comfort if you choose it.

For the new Passat CC you get to choose from a 1.8-liter TSI engine that sports 160-hp to the top of the line 3.6-liter V6 FSI engine with 300hp, and shortly after European and North American Launch the 2.0-liter turbocharged FSI engine will also be available. All models will use the DSG gearbox and as an option you get to choose all-wheels-drive.

Volkswagen Passat CC is 5cm lower than the standard and 3cm longer, has a panoramic glass roof and should sell like bread depending on price. It’s going to be a tough competitor for Mercedes CLS Class. Here’s a video of the new VW Passat CC.

If you’re a Volkswagen fan, be it the new Passat or a Golf 6 I am sure you would like to hear about the new Jetta TSI Sport version that was just presented in Birmingham, UK at the Autosport Show. This is a supercharged 1.4 liter 16-valves engine that now delivers 230 hp (from 170) no turbo lag and high maximum torque.

I am not sure if the picture and what I’ve said above is enough but here are more info on the new Jetta TSI Sport. It has a six-speed sport gearbox with limited slip differential, a racing exhaust system, Recaro HANS racing seats, 225/40 ZR18 Hankook tyres, weighs 1223 kg and uses Castrol lubricants.
Volkswagen partnered with Superchips, Milltek Sport and Turbo Dynamics to create the new Jetta TSI Sport. I think they did a great job.